Stormy Nights
by OracleofLysia
Summary: While on patrol, hot-headed Raphael crosses paths with a confusing woman named Rachel one summer night. Raphael plays the hero as usual, but unlike most women, mixed-up Rachel's isn't afraid and her curiosity gets the best of her, helping launch them into a strange and dysfunctional friendship that ultimately careens into something more during stormy summer nights. Explicit
1. Chapter 1

Raph was just about to call it a night. It was 3am on a Tuesday in June, a sweltering humid night. This was measuring up to be a slow week, just as in weeks past. Constant and random patrolling had lowered crime rate considerably, leaving him with only the occasional uninteresting case among purse snatchings and drunken encounters. In fact, one could barely call what he'd been doing patrolling at all.

Perched up in a random place, this time on the fourth floor fire escape of a condemned building to enjoy a protein bar or two a little past mid-shift was almost routine for him. From here he could two not-so-busy streets and the 24 hour hot dog restaurant's almost steady stream of customers- drunkards, street walkers, smokers of the green stuff, all mostly harmless.

He settled his shell against the cool brick wall of the building and sighed an empty sigh, malcontent with the weekday evening shift that provided him with about as much fun as patrolling a retiree home. Idly he wondered what had happened to this city, it used to be so much more exciting. It was him, of course, and his brothers when they were so inclined as to patrol. A job well done never felt so.. not fulfilling.

He certainly wasn't angry at his brothers for not patrolling as much as him. There wasn't much to do, honestly, with all the larger drug groups and gangs broken up. With low crime rates, Donatello had time to set up more camera surveillance, expand his online ventures of web programming and design, and bring home the bacon. Michelangelo had a full schedule with his small entertainment business, which also helped pay for things like groceries, medicine, research supplies, vehicle parts, and video games. Leonardo patrolled when necessary, but only about half as much as Raphael. Other times Raphael had no idea what Leo was up to, but Master Splinter always had him doing something, from training to who knows what, but it just had to be more interesting than this.

More interesting than an overcast, humid evening without a star in the sky, and too many artificial lights to see them if they were around, more interesting than the stench that rose from almost every alleyway in this city, making it hard to breathe, hard not to take to the rooftops of older buildings and town houses just to be away from the trash, and certainly more interesting than the desperate yells of yet another woman being relieved of her purse and jewelry just a block few blocks East of Raph's position.

With a grunt, Raph shoved the remaining half a protein bar in his mouth and dropped the wrapper, hoping that it would fall straight down into the dumpster below as he lept across from one fire escape to the next, to climb swiftly up three floors and vault across two rooftops to the source of the now-muffled yelling. "Time to kick some.."

He hesitated at the edge of the rooftop as he assessed the situation. He expected a mugging in progress, if not completed. What he didn't expect was to see two guys pinning a young, frantically squirming woman to the ground behind a shipping truck and pulling her clothes off, her backpack dumped out, contents strewn across the alleyway. The larger man tried to hush the woman, and violently shook her struggling form at the shoulder, snapping Raph out of his shock.

Raph could only see red, and he might have even jumped down most of the seven floors, leaving tremendous damage on the top and hood of the shipping truck, and making the most thunderous racket. The two men had no time to respond before Raph was upon them. He plucked the larger male from atop the woman, a fat fuck with a shaved head and a face full of acne. Raph kneed him in the ribs and literally threw him face first at the nearest wall. The sound of bones crunching led the unfortunate man to crumple into a moaning pile.

Raph turned to eye the other man, a skinny man with a tattooed neck and unkempt hair and face fuzz. The man was frozen as the young woman rolled from his grip before Raph descended upon him with his fists, knocking out no less than half of his teeth with the first few blows. The man was lucky to be conscious to beg for mercy by the third strike, when Raph finally hoisted him up by his unwashed hoody and arm, and sent him flying at the slowly recovering first man, dislocating the smaller man's shoulder in the process.

He turned upon them as they brokenly tried to untangle themselves, a mass of blood and broken people.

"I'm going to kill you." Raph said, as he took a shaky step towards them, "I'm going to kill you if you don't leave now. I'm going to kill you if I ever see you again..." Raph believed himself. It was all he could do not to tear them limb from limb, but the better part of him broke free enough to allow him a moment of something akin to reason. The men were shaking, crying, crawling away from Raph at this point, muttering their begging pleas for mercy lost in the presence of Raph's rage. Raph took a step at each word, ".. I. Will. Look. For. You." And it was true- Raph would never forget their faces.

They left slowly, hobbling, falling over themselves. He had doubtlessly broken several bones on each of them. They were both bleeding. In fact, one or both could still bleed to death. Raphael was left in the alley with nothing but the sound of his own labored breathing as he tried to calm his rage, fists clenching and unclenching. Had the woman gone? Had she slipped out of the alley in the moments it took for him to destroy the two sniveling scum bags?

The choked sob that echoed from behind a pile of garbage was a very sobering sound for Raph. He turned, looking towards the noise, taking a few deep breaths. He quickly moved towards her, picking her out amid the bags and boxes, curled up with her hands on her ears.

He frowned. Her clothes were torn, but mostly in tact. It was clear that they hadn't actually gotten around to the deed they'd intended. He knelt next to her, slowly. She was tense, of course. He expected that, followed by screams, crying, running. Any of those actions were common and expected where the turtles were involved, particularly in cases where there was somewhat adequate lighting.

She shivered, shook, but otherwise didn't move, so he remained knelt there for several minutes until her quaking slowed, and he could figure out what and when to speak. He reached out with one hand to offer her help up, and she cringed from him, choking out, "Don't touch me!" It was Raph's turn to flinch.

"I wanna to help ya. Where d'ya wanna go? Police department?" Raph offered, and she responded quickly, shaking her head vigorously.

"H-home. I.. I want.. to go home." She looked up at him through her mess of curly blonde hair, her features shaded by the chaos of her own unkempt locks. She looked away, looked at him again, then away again, but didn't scream.

Raph sighed, looking away from her to the bookback and scattered personal items nearby. He rose to collect them all; fairly busted laptop, pens, a cellphone, a biology book, a few library novels, college I.D. on a lanyard, and a wallet in tact with her regular I.D. predictably in the clear slot. He examined it for a moment, noting that her name was Rachel, she was 20, a little older than he'd assumed, so not much younger than him, and she only lived 8 blocks away, in an area he didn't often pass through, mostly residential, a quiet area. At least if she couldn't communicate it, he'd know where to take her nonetheless.

He slipped it all into her backpack and slung it over his shoulder before meandering back over to her. She hadn't moved much, but was in the process of standing, so he held out a hand to her, and stood with his open palm extended for an inordinately long time before he finally spoke up again, "Lemme help ya." He said as softly as he could, trying not to spook her even more. After all, he was obviously not human.

There was an even longer, awkward hesitation that made him sweat more than working over her attackers had. She was staring at his hand, but finally she took it and stood up, half a head shorter than him. She held his hand long enough to stable, then pulled away from him coldly to take a few shaky steps alone. He motioned to her backpack, "I got yer stuff... I'll carry it." She didn't respond, walking towards the exit of the alley, so he followed her close behind. Maybe she was in shock?

"I'll walk ya, jus' lead the way," He narrated, as apparently they were en route already. She favored her left leg some, "Are you sure you don't need more help?" He asked as he moved closer to her, offering her a hand. Again, she avoided his help as much as possible. Since she wasn't inclined to accept much help from him, he decided not to push it. She was a big girl, right? If she could walk, he'd let her.

She stumbled several times, he reached out to stabilize her and she jerked away from his touch each time. They walked in silence for the first few blocks and he eyed the stretched and torn white t-shirt that hung from one shoulder and blanketed her frame. It caught at the small curve of her back, just above her rounded bottom, clad in mid-length, low-rise fitted jean shorts. Then miraculously, she spoke up finally to ask, "Who are you?"

The question caught him off guard and he averted his gaze, but he answered nonetheless, "Raph." He wasn't one for divulging information about himself generally. Small talk also wasn't his piece of cake. He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself soothingly. He couldn't see her face very well, but her voice was lovely, circumstances considered.

"Raph." She said softly, testing the name out. It rolled off of her tongue a little more naturally than it should have, causing Raph's cheeks to burn. "That's an odd name for an odd guy." She admitted softly and Raph bit his tongue. She could have called him worse, but really he'd prefer if she didn't call him anything at all. Raph figured he must look like a beast to her. Sweet young girls were not friendly to big, burly reptiles like him. "Odd name for a hero, I guess." She added.

Raph couldn't help but perk at that. He didn't often experience any level of recognition or gratitude. Still, hero was a bit much. "I'm no hero. But it's actually Raphael." He shrugged at his own words helplessly. What did she care? Why was he elaborating?

"Your parents must love art, then." She continued the awkward conversation, and he obliged to the small talk, hoping it was a good sign. She seemed more comfortable already, her posture less rigid.

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

Her pace was slowed, and she seemed more inclined to walk beside him, if for no other reason than to offer him a sidelong stare on occasion that made him uncomfortable. Her scrutinizing gaze lasted longer than good etiquette permitted, something he was used to. Nonetheless, it still managed to bother him every time. "Here it comes," he thought, preparing himself for too-curious questions or judgmental remarks. However, though it was intensely obvious she was thinking it, she didn't ask it immediately.

"Ya shouldn't stare. It's not polite." Raph smirked.

"I'm Rachel." She offered, and he nodded briskly. She couldn't help but stare at him, but fought the urge regardless.

"I know. I saw your I.D." Raph returned shortly, and wanted to face palm at how creepy he sounded.

"Oh." She blinked and stared at the concrete as it passed below her. She didn't look back up at him, concentrating on walking. Her ankle really hurt. It was possibly sprained. But speaking up about it might cause her hulking companion to move in closer to aid her, and she just couldn't handle that. Not this strange... guy.

They traveled another block in silence.

"Why are you out so late, anyhow? Study group?" Raph questioned, his voice deep and husky. He seemed unable to cope with the silence for some reason. Besides, with just a few blocks to go, this could be his last chance to talk to her. Conversation with a female peer, or any peer at all that wasn't a brother, was an extremely rare event.

He had a nice voice, she admitted to herself. When he wasn't threatening someone with their life, it was really pleasant and soothing to hear. She sighed, "Yeah, sort of. I was working on a paper and I lost track of time. Bad night for that, I guess." She laughed lightly, sadly, and it triggered a frown from Raph, but he thought it surely had to be a good sign.

Approaching her building, she headed to the west side of the building to a tall privacy gate. Fumbling with a key card from her pocket, she unlocked the gate, and he followed along, fully expecting her to either ask for her backpack or haul off running at any second for a door- anything to separate herself from him.

But she didn't. She held the gate open for him and he followed her in to a dimly lit garden area, through some trellises, and to an opening with a fairly decent sized pool, partly shaded by a permanent canopy. The gate swung shut and locked itself with a click.

Raphael looked around. It was an unexpectedly gorgeous garden area- he could smell fresh tilled soil and fertilizer. She hobbled over to a bench and settled into it with a deep sigh of relief.

"I need to rest." She responded to Raph's curious gaze. He looked from her to the building, "Ya live right here, though, yeah? I can help you in."

Rachel shook her head. Leaning over to examine her own ankle. Raph frowned, moving to kneel next to her. Sure enough, her ankle was swolen to nearly the size of a grapefruit.

"It's definitely sprained." He said, angry at himself for not noticing sooner. It that swollen several blocks back, in the alley. It was clear she had exasperated it by walking so far on it. He groaned, a little angry at himself, as well as her for not speaking up, "Why didn't you say something?" His frustration was plain.

Rachel waved her arms, "What for? It's not broken. It'll be fine, I'm sure!" She moved to stand, wincing painfully as she forced her way halfway up before plopping back down.

"It's not fine. It's worse than it could have been." He exclaimed, feeling like a complete ass for letting that slip by his notice. He knew she was injured, but he didn't know to what extent. He'd allowed himself to be distracted by what? Her company? This wasn't a date, he reminded himself. What an idiot he was. And her, too, for putting herself more at risk for injury.

"It'll pass. I'll just sit here awhile." She said in an effort to calm him.

"You can't stay out here all night." He directed. As if on cue, thunder rumbled nearby, providing an eerie punctuation to his statement.

"I can take care of myself!" She nearly yelled as she leapt to her feet and shoved her way past Raphael towards a back door entrance to the building. She didn't get far, however, before crumpling to the ground. She sat there on the walkway in silence with a scowl on her face that he could barely make out.

"Why are you so stubborn?" Raphael sighed, moving over to her. She slapped away his extended hand suddenly.

"You're so pushy! Why can't you just mind your own business?" She spat back at him, turning her chin upward and causing her messy bangs to fall away from her visage. She was free to meet his emerald gaze with an icy blue glare.

His face was dark, greenish. She knew that. She'd been inspecting him since she first laid eyes on him. He wore an old hat, as well as a red mask tied in the back, like some oddball in a disguise. But his eyes- it was the first time she'd seen them directly and they were stunning, even in the limited light. They were like shimmering emeralds that seemed to glow in the darkness. His expression was incredulous, in spite of the fact that he was clearly not human.

Raph was taken aback by her overall appearance as well. She was an absolute jewel with pale, flushed skin, and a heart shaped face with rounded cheeks. It was a shame she seemed to have so much venom in her, particularly for Raph. Her defiant gaze only fueled his own rage. What, did she want a fight?

"Mind my own business?" Raph choked, his mind absolutely blown. How could she be so ungrateful? "Mind my own business while you walk a dangerous path at night, get robbed, beaten, raped, and possibly murdered by some random monsters?" He watched her lower her her gaze to stare at his bare feet just as the clouds released a deluge the likes that the city hadn't seen in months. "Is that honestly what you want?" He slid her backpack from his shoulder, only to zip it up in trying to protect the contents from the rain, slinging it back again when finished.

"You're one to talk about monsters." She said simply, and her brain screamed to stop the words as they rolled off of her tongue and past her full, pouting lips. But it was too late to stop the cruel words that froze him on the spot.

Raph could feel his blood begin to boil. He could hardly believe his ears, despite the fact that he normally would fully expect such an insult. He responded with far more ire than intended, "Did ya seriously just call me a monsta'? That's a hell of a note, Rachel. Jus' what exac'ly makes me a monsta? My concern for your wellbeing, or my willingness to sacrifice my time an' personal safety for ya? Am I more of a monsta' than your friends back there in the alleyway? Tha's jus' great, y'know...?"

A flash of light directly above them followed by a roll of thunder sent Rachel into quakes and audible sobs. She recoiled from him and the weather, curling up into a helpless fetal ball on the flooding walkway, her thin clothes and wild mane of blonde hair quickly saturated by the rain.

Raph sighed, regretting his explosive response immediately. Did he scare her all by himself or had the thunder and lightening helped? He had no idea. He moved to her, squatting beside her, "'ey listen, let's get ya in out of the rain. Then I'll go and you'll have one less monsta' to eva have ta deal with, okay?" He didn't want to blame her for thinking he was a monster, but it still burned hard.

He didn't want to argue more outside, to wake neighbors. The rain seemed to cool his temper. He didn't wait for her response, instead he slid his hand under her legs and hooked it around her knees, securing her torso with his other arm. She yelped as he lifted her swiftly and headed to the back door, where he stood patiently eyeing the entry key pad. He had a card- it wouldn't work here. She finally reached out to key in number that unlocked the door with a mechanical click.

Standing in the foyer, he looked around, noting the elevator's "out of order" signage. "Fantastic," he thought to himself. The front of the bottom floor was a retail store, inaccessible from their place. His options from here were the broken elevator, the broom closet clearly labeled "Janitor", or the stairs. She must live in an apartment upstairs, he surmised.

"How far up?" he asked as he turned to take the first few steps up the stairs.

"Ten... on the top floor." She stated, rigid in his arms. Was he seriously going to carry her all the way up? Somehow she knew he would, even if it were 50 floors up. He was stubborn and determined, otherwise she'd still be sitting in the rain.

He climed the stairs without complaint. After the first few floors, she hesitantly settled against him, head on his shoulder, tired. His chest was hard, his arms were big, and she could feel the thick muscle through his trench coat. She idly wondered what he was, but was afraid to ask considering she'd pretty much called him a monster minutes earlier. Everything that happened in recent hours had been so overwhelming... she wanted to trust this man, if he could even be called a man. Really, she did. He'd rescued her from an extremely foul situation. His violence frightened her to no end, but it was warranted, wasn't it? They deserved what they got and so much more. Raph wasn't anyone to cross, clearly. And if he wanted to take advantage of her, wouldn't he have done so already? What was he? Who was he? Her wish to know more about him only grew. Maybe she was just delirious from the adrenaline rush and lack of sleep.

Rocking against him with every movement, she found the opportunity to inspect him more closely. She stared at his round chin and the rough texture of his cheek and neck as the dim stairwell lights permitted. The base of his neck, his collarbone area, all seemed normal aside from his odd skin tone and texture, the glistening rain moisture that resided there made him shine. His chest rose and fell quickly as his breathing sped to accommodate the strenuous act of hauling them both up ten flights of stairs. The top of his plastron peeked from beneath his trench coat, and she felt somehow compelled to touch it. Slowly, her hand sneakily crept up until the tips of her index and middle fingers touched his plastron. She ran them idly across the top edge, feeling the gentle ridges, and he came to a sudden halt. She snatched her hand back as if she'd been burned, face red with embarrassment that her curiosity had gotten the best of her, she'd been found out.

It was true. She'd been discovered, but Raph had only stopped because he'd reached the tenth floor and the only door in sight was locked. "This must be it, huh?" He asked, calmly as he could manage, his own cheeks heated from her casual and short-lived inspection of him. Her curiosity confused him when moments before she'd clearly outlined the fact that he repulsed her. "Mhm." Was all she could manage, as she hadn't been paying attention to their journey up the stairs at all. He tried not to look at her, instead eyeing the glowing card slot, a beacon in the poorly lit hall. Remembering the card he'd taken from her, he fumbled with it until he could slide it into the slot. The door unlocked with a familiar mechanical click and he pushed down the knob, leaning his arm into the door and pushing his way into the cool, dark apartment.

Across the threshold with her in his arms. The idea was not lost on either of them.

Rachel reached over to click on the lights, which were nearly blinding to both of them.

"Ugh!" They both exclaimed in unison, then glanced at eachother in shock, then away again.

"Sorry about that.." She turned the dial to dim the lights slightly before Raphael spotted the sofa and made a b-line over to it.

He lowered her to the sofa, then placed her book bag on the floor next to her, and her key card on the coffee table, which was cluttered with games and magazines. When he stood to look down at her, his breath hitched in his throat as he noted that light white t-shirt was all but translucent when wet, clinging to her curves intimately, particularly the generous expanse of her breasts. He quickly averted his gaze and turned, moving toward the balcony windows to see the storm outside. It was a raging storm out there, but the discomfort inside wasn't any better. He glanced around idly at the furnishings of the apartment; a pristine white rug over polished hardwood floors, brown suede furniture, bookshelves, a flat-screen tv, and a plethora of video games and game controllers. She'd probably get along with Mikey, he mused internally.

Rachel sighed and slumped into the sofa, pulling a throw pillow to her chest, relieved to be home at last. She watched Raphael move to the sliding door, his back to her. The trench coat did little to hide the hump of his back. "Sorry about the mess... I don't have company often." She admitted, glancing around at all the clutter. It was true. Rachel had a complicated and traumatic history, and spent an almost unhealthy amount of time simply locked away in her apartment. If it wasn't for school and her part-time job at the restaurant, she might never leave. "Hey... uh. You want a drink or something?" She offered.

Raph turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Nah, I should get going. Can I get anything for ya before I head out?"

He was leaving already? She expected it, but suddenly she realized how she didn't really want to be completely alone. What was she hoping for, exactly? That he'd stay and chat over tea? She mentally admonished herself. What a foolish thought.

"Maybe a bottle of water from the fridge, if that's okay?" She pulled a throw blanket from the back of the sofa upon herself.

Raph obliged her request. Her kitchen was clean, but he was amused to notice several pizza boxes near the trash can, and leftover pizza in the fridge. As he left the kitchen, his eye caught the bar of liquor and the wine chiller, but he was sure she was only 20. She probably had a boyfriend buying her alcohol, he concluded. He spied some ziplock bags on the counter, and took it upon himself to fill one with ice so she could treat her sprain.

Raph handed over the water bottle, and makeshift ice pack, refusing to look directly at her. The more he looked at her, the more attractive she appeared to him, and not only did that make him feel guiltly considering the circumstances, but it was a useless thing to admire her when there was no chance of them becoming friends. After all, he was a monster to her, right? He headed towards the door and Rachel felt a sudden panic wash over her, "Thanks... H...hey! Wait!"

Raph stopped for a moment, canting his head back to glance at her, again from the corner of his eye as she sat up straight on the sofa, "I didn't get to thank you or anything!"

"No problem." He reached for the door knob.

"Wait! When will I ever see you again?" She asked quickly.

"Who knows?" He turned the door knob.

"What if I still need help?" She asked in desperation.

Raph blinked, then opened the door, "You should call someone."

"I don't have your number." She prodded.

"Someone _else_." He responded, dryly.

"I... I don't...I can't." She bit her lip, looking down. He was really making her work for it, but the truth was she wasn't close to anyone. Who could she call? Her drug-addicted lech of a boss? No.

Raph sighed, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his shell phone. "I'll check in on you tomorrow. What's your number?"

Rachel called it out to him and he programmed it in deftly, slipping out the door.

"Promise?" She called out to him.

"Sure thing, toots!" He called back, halfway down the first flight of stairs already, the apartment door swung shut.

"... toots?" Rachel said to herself, alone in the apartment. She wrapped the bag of ice in the throw, allowing it to rest on her swolen ankle before reclining back against the sofa. Although her thoughts were a mile a minute, sleep took her quickly.

Raph ran nonstop down ten floors and out the back exit. Halting in the garden area, he stopped to catch his breath. His heart was racing.

Did she really just prod him for contact? She seemed serious, almost relentless. What the hell was that all about? Her signals were so mixed... one minute she's asking about him, the next she's telling him off, then back to kindness and curiosity. To what end? Raph couldn't put it together.

But he'd promised to check on her, and he'd keep his promise by morning. Then it would be done and he could go back to not being bothered up by the excessively pretty blonde girl who called him a monster.

The walk home for Raph was long and wrought with confusing and frustrating thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel was awakened at about 8am by her cell phone's insistent ringing. At first, she thought it might be the strange man from the night before, and was hesitant to reach for the phone, as she wasn't entirely sure what was real and what was not about the evening before. As she moved, her early morning haze was shattered when her ankle alerted her to the very real injury she'd suffered, and she answered the phone. She settled back onto the sofa for a moment with a sigh of relief at the sound of her boss' voice, grateful that it wasn't her hero on the other end of the line, after all what would she say? She turned down an offer of a working shift easily, and disconnected the call before she settled back to try to make sense of the previous evening. Was the man who had saved her real? Yes, she was certain that he was. After hobbling around the apartment helplessly, she gave up on being even remotely productive, as she was still battered and tired from the previous evening's events, which she desperately didn't want to think about. She downed some over the counter painkillers and settled back into the sofa to slip into a pitch-black sleep that didn't release her again until late in the afternoon.

Her phone chimed once, then again, rousing her from her slumber as the late afternoon sun rays bored like a spotlight through her balcony door blinders, which were doing a terrible job of being blinds. She groaned, rolling to stare at her phone, which glowed "Message Received, Unknown Number."

**How are you feeling today?** -Raph

**Yo, are you okay? How's the ankle? **-Raph

Rachel's mind flashed back to the evening before, the two men that easily forced her into the alleyway and flung her to the ground, how everything was a blur, confusing. She fought with all her might, but her strength was nothing compared to that of her two assailants, and she was helpless to their will. Until the unbelievable, tremendous man with green skin came to her rescue. She could hardly register him at the time as real, but he was. Despite his outrageous appearance, he seemed to be a real hero.

He'd stayed with her until he was sure she was safe from further harm, and her bruised body was back home behind locked doors.

She stared at the text for a long time, contemplating the creature on the other end. He wasn't human, that much was apparent. However, he could speak, fight, and operate a phone. Her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. She hadn't imagined Raphael. She hadn't imagined his rage at her assailants, nor his continual attention to her needs following the attack. She hadn't imagined his kindness, through quite rough around the edges. Despite everything, she'd lashed out at him in the garden.

Finally, she typed back a message.

**Groggy, but I'm fine I think.** - Rachel

**Glad to know. I hope your recovery goes well.** -Raph

She blinked. Was that all? Did this conclude their very awkward knowledge of eachother? What started off as a bit of disappointment took barely two seconds to morph into the downright insult that let her to try to engage him further.

**Are you going to be out again this evening rescuing damsels in distress? **-Rach

Her mind screamed at her. She questioned herself, "Why am I engaging this man further?" She hadn't forgotten how his brute strength. Shouldn't she be afraid of him? Yes and no? Her phone was silent for several minutes as she waited with baited breath, but to no avail. He did not respond to her inquiry, and she pouted to herself. She wanted to know his story, but how did one go about asking a giant green bad ass about himself? Was it even appropriate to?

Shifting on the sofa, she became aware that she wasn't as fresh as she'd like to feel. Resolving that a shower would make her feel monumentally better, Rachel pried herself up off the sofa and hobbled off to the master bathroom.

The sound of running water was soothing, but the actual feel of the warm liquid against her bare skin was beyond heavenly. The only thing that would have made it better would have been not sitting on the side of the bathtub for most of the shower like an invalid person. Still, as she scrubbed her skin clean her favorite shea and rice flower body wash, she began to feel like a new person all over, as if no foul events had befallen her the previous evening. Being clean made it easier to block out the things she didn't want to remember.

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, hair wrapped up in a towel and cozy in her favorite fuzzy pink bath robe, the sun had already made its departure.

Rachel needed no injury to assist her with wasting a day away doing nothing, if her gaming console and pizza box collections were any indication of her near-hikkomori status. Her tummy rumbled, not that she could do much for it- her kitchen was fairly barren since she'd been working at the restaurant more often. It was far too easy to subsist on leftover pizza when it was made so convenient- and almost always free- by the restaurant she worked at.

She settled onto her recliner, considering ordering delivery Chinese when her phone chimed the arrival of a new message.

**Why? Do you need saving again? **-Raph

Rachel huffed.

**Not unless you're saving me from starvation. Otherwise I'm safely under lock and key. **-Rachel

She had no intention of leaving her apartment anytime soon. The thought of it made her quake with fear as she again settled her mind on anything but two strange men pinning her down in a back alley. She sighed, knowing that what she'd been saved from in physical pain was a void easily filled by psychological terrors. She was already a hermit with a broken heart long before last night's fiasco. Her phone chimed, distracting her from her miserable self-diagnosis.

**I can do that if that's what you need. What'll it be? **-Raph

Seriously? Despite the alarms sounding in her head, she found herself somehow excited that he'd actually responded positively. She'd get to see him again, maybe thank him properly in person for all he'd done for her the night before.

**Chinese food? **-Rachel

**You got it. See you in an hour.** -Raph

She hesitated. Baiting him back out to her home seemed almost too easy. Did he really care so much as to see to her after the crisis? Rescuing her was already above and beyond. Was delivering dinner his excuse to return? Was he as curious about her as she as him? She somewhat doubted it. Idly she recalled his temper as he handled her assailants with ease. He was an incredible, frightening alpha, but his attitude took a 180 when he turned his attention to her. His heart was definitely in the right place, despite anything else. What harm could befriending him and sating her curiosity do? Sure, he was a little scary. Okay, he was a real scary dude, but if he'd wanted to harm her, he'd had ample opportunity to do it already, right?

This was perfect. Raph was the most interesting thing to happen to her in a long time, and might just be a perfect distraction to pull her from her sad thoughts if only for a while. Rachel hopped up from the recliner almost energetically and carefully made her way to the bedroom do dress and untangle her wild mane of hair. His visit would provide her the perfect opportunity to not lounge around and be a complete lazy slob all night.

Raph woke up earlier in the day than anticipated, but spent awhile lounging in the bed, half asleep, thinking of the incredibly beautiful girl he'd encountered the night before. His rage at seeing her assaulted had been barely quelled by the beating he'd given the two criminals. If she'd not still been there to witness the beating, he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't have come closer to killing the scumbags.

Normally Raph's mood would have continually deteriorated and he would have raged on through the night, growing angrier and more violent with each encounter, but somehow she had a calming effect on him- he didn't want her to see him at his worst. She was a beauty, disheveled by her encounter, an he was her beast of a hero. He was somewhat surprised that she wasn't completely terrified of him, particularly after the attack. Somewhere between shock and exhaustion perhaps, she had been accepting of him, if only until she found herself safe at home. He expected that to be the end, his last time to see her. He'd accepted that as he went through his afternoon training, focused, with a temper somehow completely in check, unlike it had ever recently been, if ever. Splinter surely noticed, but seemed unphased, carryong on about his business with an almost knowing air about him. Leonardo, however, often the main recipient of the brutal, violent, uncontrolled rage that Raphael often channeled and unleashed at him during sparring sessions, noticed. It was almost as if Raphael was holding back, and for once, Leonardo didn't feel as though his life could really be in danger during a spar. It was a worrisome thing, because if Raphael's rage was focused elsewhere, well... who could survive it but his own brothers? This led Leonardo to question Raphael's behavior,but Raphael blew Leonardo's queries off and escaped back to his own room, leaving his brothers curious, and worried to varying degrees.

Raphael settled back into his thoughts of Rachel. Giant turtles didn't often make the acquaintance of beautiful young women of Rachel's caliber, or of any caliber at all for that matter, at least not without screaming, running, or fainting involved somehow. Hell, it was a mere year ago that Raph had looked some random woman in the face after retrieving her stolen purse, and his mere visage had launched the poor woman into the throws of a panic attack. It was a definite hard blow to Raphael's self esteem.

Rachel had to be different, because there was no way she didn't notice that he was... different. That's why he wasn't expecting what was a clear invitation for him to return to her home, to see her again. It threw him off, but sparked his curiosity. At first he wanted to blow her off, but the more she texted him, the more curious of her he became.

Maybe she was just too afraid to go out in public again so soon. Then again, she could have ordered delivery for dinner just as easily. Did she really trust Raph already? Women were confusing, and in all his years of knowing April, his understanding of them had really gotten little clearer. Maybe she really didn't get a good enough look at him to realize he wasn't human, though he sincerely doubted it. She would have been blind to overlook such a glaringly obvious fact, but perhaps screaming and fainting was on the horizon yet. Would he chance it?

Yes. He would. Why? Because why the fuck not at this point? Wouldn't it be nice to make another friend like April or Casey? The opportunity didn't often present itself.

Rachel seemed like a smart girl. Surely she could see that he was not normal, and if she was willing to try to befriend him regardless, that would be outstanding. Raphael didn't want to get his hopes up too high.

"You're just taking her some Chinese takeout, nothing more. Just dropping the food off and being on your way," He assured himself. That would have to be enough, it was all he could realistically hope for.

He found himself already dressed and at the exit of the lair when the sun had barely set.

"Bro, where ya going?" Michaelangelo questioned, catching the attention of Leonardo across the living area. "'Cause if you're grabbing pizza..." his brother trailed off before being cut off by Raph's response.

"I'm going out. Not for pizza. To patrol." Raph said, a little too quicky.

"Oh. I thought tonight was a night off, though." Mikey pointed out.

"I just feel like going out." Raph said.

Mikey nodded, accepting his brother's explanation easily. It wasn't unlike Raphael to hit the streets to blow off some steam, and it was apparent that he hadn't done so during their training that afternoon.

Leonardo, however, was unconvinced, but before he could open his mouth to protest, Raph slid out the door quickly after locking eyes with Leo from across the room. It was a clear evasion that didn't sit well with Leonardo, but what could he do? Something strange was clearly up with Raph, but whatever it was, Raph wasn't willing to share. As usual.

"Careful out there, bro!" Mikey called out after Raphael, who was already far enough from the lair not to hear.


End file.
